Slivers of Shiny
by Callisto Callispi
Summary: Try seeing the universe from nine different perspectives, and maybe it'll be enough to drive you out of your gorram mind. 100 drabbles, Firefly crew.
1. Until Then

**Author's Note**: About a year ago, I took up a 100-drabble challenge on joss100, a drabble comm on LJ. This is the result. Updates will be sporadic and often subject to the whims of my crack!muse.

**Disclaimer**: Joss Whedon owns all things good.

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><p><strong>Title<strong>: Until Then  
><strong>Character(s)<strong>: Kaylee  
><strong>Prompt<strong>: Daydreams  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 610  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Kaylee dreams patiently. Pre-season.

Kaylee was thirteen years old when she heard an orchestra play for the first time.

An Alliance transport ship had docked a few miles south of Pa's workshop because of engine troubles, and she had followed Pa to talk to the ship's captain.

Kaylee's eyes widened when she saw him. He was young, for a captain. His hair gleamed auburn in the sunlight, and his face was good-looking. He wore a suit so clean and stiff that it looked like it was starched for days. When he saw them, he nodded, all formal-like.

"We had passed by Hera when the asteroid struck and the engines took a turn for the worst. I decided to dock here, just in case there would be further trouble."

Pa inspected the ship and shook his head. They would need new parts, he said. It would take a few days at the very least to retrieve and install the parts.

"At least you stopped here," Kaylee piped in when the captain scowled. "Pa's the best mechanic on this moon, and I'm sure the folks here would treat you and your crew real nice."

The captain turned his glance toward Kaylee. Her heart leaped.

As the days passed, Kaylee worked on the ship while hoping to catch the captain's attention. He never looked at her again, but she kept her face and nails clean, just in case.

On the third day, the ship's passengers began to wander out to explore the moon. Around noon, after lunch, some of them gathered around a grassy field with violins and violas and other instruments that Kaylee had never seen.

Kaylee didn't know what to expect. The sounds that she liked best were the deep purrs of a smoothly oiled engine and the clang of metal.

But as soon as the orchestra started playing, Kaylee forgot to breathe.

Each violin note streamed through the air in gentle hums. The violas reached pitches so shrill that her ears tingled. The air suddenly sweetened, as if someone opened a bottle of perfume. Of course, it wasn't a real orchestra like the fancy ones they had on the core planets, but for Kaylee, it was enough to make her forget about rewiring the core compressor.

After a while, Pa clapped his hand on her shoulder.

"What're you doing there with your mouth agapin' like a fish, girl? There's work to be done."

Kaylee turned to him and smiled brightly. "The music, Pa. It's just so pretty."

Pa snorted. "You ain't no fancy lady, Kaylee, so don't go gettin' uppity on me."

Kaylee worked hard, and after five more days, she and Pa watched the ship blast off into space from the workshop roof.

Pa was cheerful all through out dinner. He had gotten paid more than he thought he would, and Ma was good humoredly trying to get him to buy her a new dress.

Kaylee left after cleaning the dishes and entered her attic room. Instead of the bare, half-lit bulb on her ceiling, she saw a floating chandelier of glittering crystal. She was wearing a frilly pink dress with skirts so wide that when people passed her by, they said, "Pardon me, ma'am" like she was a real proper lady. Quietly, she hummed the song that the orchestra had played so often and twirled around, placing her arms on the shoulders of an imaginary dance partner.

Kaylee was determined to listen to music like that again some day. And when she did, she would have a nice dress, and a man like the captain would stop when he saw her and offer her a dance.

But until then, Kaylee would just dream.


	2. Say Something

**Title**: Say Something**  
><strong>**Character(s):** River, Simon**  
>Prompt: <strong>Silence**  
>Word Count: <strong>322  
><strong>Summary: <strong>All she hears is silence. Post-movie.

Seated in the chair with her arms around her knees, she stared at the little figurines. They were lifelessly sentient, painted with brown and green. Relics of the earth-that-was.

"Say something," she muttered, peering at them with the soundless intensity of a thousand suns.

"River, what are you doing?" a voice came from the doorway.

River noted the presence, processed it to be a non-threat, and immediately dismissed the question. She kept staring at the figurines. They stared back at her silently.

"River, why did you leave your room? I was looking all over for –"

"They're not speaking anymore, and it hurts my ears," River explained, not taking her eyes off the molded plastic.

He walked in slowly, as if she were a skittish animal about to lash out.

"River, let's go back to your room. You need some sleep," he said soothingly, as if she were her patient. He was next to her, with his hands on her shoulders. River barely felt them. She just wanted him to be quiet, and she wanted them to talk again.

After a while – River didn't bother counting the minutes – he squeezed her shoulder and said quietly, "I'm sorry."

River blinked, and slowly, the consoles of the bridge materialized. River turned her gaze toward Simon and cocked her head.

"I knew the dosages weren't strong enough. After Miranda, you improved so much. I just thought we could ease up with the meds a bit."

River felt the guilt pulsate around him, like a heartbeat.

She could hear his heartbeat, she thought sadly, but she couldn't hear them talk.

River unhooked her arms from around her knees. She stood up, the pads of her feet meeting the cold, steel floor.

"They'll never speak again," River whispered, grazing her fingers over the two dinosaurs.

Simon raised an eyebrow. "They never have, River."

River followed him to her room, not bothering to tell him he was wrong.


End file.
